The Disciple
by ArcticWolf1996
Summary: In the beginnings of time, Magic created a protector to be Its voice and keep balance amongst Its subjects. Throughout history, this guardian popped up whenever and wherever Magic deemed him needed. What happens when Magic looks upon a shivering baby on a lonely, cold doorstep?
1. Prologue

Ever since the beginning, Magic has had a presence in all things. Whether it was in a speck of dirt or the flowing particles of air. Magic has given life to many things, both good and evil. For Magic is creation, but also destruction. A balance It must keep for everything to thrive.

However, one such being It created, demons, didn't believe in keeping balance and sought to rule over all. A great war was struck with blood being shed on all sides. Knowing this meaningless war would only lead to more bloodshed, Magic created a being to act as Its representative and use Magic's full power to keep the balance.

However, the being created encountered a problem. Out of the many races Magic created, humans were one of Its favorites. Humans were ever changing and evolving. Both logic and emotions controlled their actions which made them unpredictable. Humans had always intrigued Magic, that was why magic chose to make this being based on a human.

This being, Azriel, was the personification of magic. Though his entire essence was made of magic, he had the shell and mind of a human. That was where the problem laid.

Many of the current world's races looked down upon humans thinking them weak or easy prey. In a way, they were correct. Physically speaking, they couldn't match a demon's strength. When dealing with emotions, angels sneered at how emotional humans were when it was common sense that emotions skews logic.

They couldn't see past these traits to find what Magic loved about humans. They couldn't see how compassion and love made life worth living. They couldn't see the determination and integrity of humans in the face of an impossible challenge. They couldn't see what Magic could.

So when a human showed up, no matter how strong he felt to them, both sides sneered and refused to listen.

With a heavy heart, Azriel used the full power of Magic to split Earth into three dimensions and sent both angels and demons into their new homes. With the main forces gone on both sides, and with Azriel's voice of reason, the other races calmed and accepted peace between all.

However, because of the continuous fighting between two powerful forces, Magic and the Earth were nearly destroyed and in drastic need of help.

Knowing what he had to do, Azriel set up a council with a representative of each race in order to keep the peace before using the rest of his reserves to rehabilitate the Earth, thus putting him into a deep slumber.

Time passed by while the world thrived. Peace between races allowed them to focus on improving their way of life instead of protecting what they already had. Even the ones who felt they were superior kept their tongue and worked with others lest another devastating war occur and destroy everything.

However, more time passed and younger generations took over the old, which is the natural way of life. Yet, they never experienced the hardships of war and the possible repercussions that come with it.

Soon, war was declared once again, this time between two factions of elves. The battle lasted over a thousand years until the balance started to tip yet again. The dark elves founded a new branch of magic meant only for death.

Using this newfound magic, they swept across the world annihilating everything that stood in their way. High elves, not seeing any other way, adopted this death magic and fought fire with fire until the world was rife with destruction once again.

Magic saw what was becoming of Its world and called upon Its slumbering ambassador to once again intervene.

Azriel, just as before, spoke to both sides, but unlike the last time, only the dark elves sneered and attacked. Knowing that such evil could not live anywhere, he sadly annihilated the entire dark army.

Turning around to find the high elves on their knees, ready for slaughter, Azriel thought of a better punishment for them. While they fought for beings unlike them, they still used such ghastly magic in order to win instead of trying to find another method.

Thus, he put a curse upon them. Forevermore, they shall be in need of another magical being to sustain their magic. The remaining elves thanked Azriel for his mercy before he warned all once again that balance must be kept.

The elves went back to their homes and were met with grandiose cheers. Many remembered the tales of angels and demons and how both were sent away forever. With downtrodden hearts, the elves explained that while they were spared, they were placed with a curse.

However, instead of the jeers and taunts the 'mighty elves' thought they would get, they were welcomed with open arms to use their fellow comrades to stabilize them. Azriel smiled at the heartwarming scene before leaving to fix the world once again.

Though, this time was different. The world wasn't nearly as destroyed as the last, so he had no need to go into a deep slumber to recover. He debated going back and helping lead the many races into another golden era, but decided against it.

He may keep the balance, but he would allow others to rule themselves. Because if he stayed at the top, no one would have the free will to be themselves. Some will once again try to take over, but others will stop them. A world without strife, as he learned, will only lead to another great war.

So, he disguised himself as any other human and spent his days learning what the world had become while he was asleep. He soon found out that humans were not the same as he once knew them, at least, some of them.

After the first great war, Magic had gifted a smidgen of Its power to a few worthy humans to make the first wizard and witches. Azriel was fascinated by these new humans since they were so similar to him. Though, he soon found out that while they were similar, there was no comparison between their power level.

He watched as they learned how to harness their magic and amaze the other humans. He watched as they created new things, built new towns and marvelous castles and harnessed their magic to help others. However, he also watched them control their magic to devastating effects. Earth moved, waters flooded, fires raged and winds tore through the lands.

Another war soon began between two such mages, Merlin and Morgana. They were both evenly matched

While Morgana sought out dark magic to destroy Merlin, Merlin decided to go on a journey to find Magic's chosen. He wanted to appeal to Azriel to help defeat Morgana before she destroyed anything else.

After years of searching, Merlin did find Azriel and begged for guidance and help. He explained what he wanted and how he hoped Azriel would help. In turn, Azriel looked deep into what made Merlin who he was and decided that, instead of him intervening, he would teach Merlin secrets of magic so he could defeat Morgana and lead the magical world into a prosperous era.

For an entire year, Azriel trained Merlin mercilessly, though not just in the physical sense. Once the year was over, Merlin would seem no different than he was before, at least, on the outside. However, the amount of knowledge he gained over that year was worth a hundred self-study years.

He learned how to properly incorporate magic throughout his body, how to let it flow instead of forcing it, how to guide it to achieve a goal, how to treat it as a friend and companion and much more. He came out a changed man in both mind and magic, ready to face his nemesis just as she was ready for him.

The battle lasted for days, but Magic was on Merlin's side. Morgana could only depend on herself while Merlin had a friend that would help him when he needed it. In the end, Merlin defeated Morgana and became a symbol to all magic users. He went on another journey to search for Azriel in order to thank him, but he could never find him even after years of searching. When he concluded that Azriel must not want to be found, he stopped and looked into the sky. "Thank you," he sincerely said and felt a soft touch of magic. He smiled, knowing his message got to Azriel before living his life without the threat Morgana presented to the world.

Azriel watched as time flew by. He would often help fellow magicals as an innocent bystander, especially children, to help them gain a foothold in the world. This went on for many years until he heard of a school being built for young magicals.

He soon came upon a wondrous castle that was in its final stages of completion. Knowing how much hard work was put into this in these tough times, he blessed the castle when it was completed. This blessing gave Hogwarts enough power to become semi sentient, not that the Founders knew.

When it opened, he became one of the first magical 'children' to attend the school. Azriel explored the castle and attended every class. To sum up his feelings on Hogwarts, impressed would be an understatement.

The Founders taught all types of magic. It didn't matter who created it or its purpose. Azriel was glad the demons never taught anyone black magic. The school also didn't hold any discrimination against other races, so if they had magic, they were accepted.

Feeling that the magical world was on the right track, he bid goodbye to the world and went back into a deep slumber. He learned a lot and experienced much, and he hoped he wouldn't be needed for many more millennium.

His hope only lasted one millennium.


	2. The Beginning

Somewhere deep underground, a being sat in a meditative position with colorful streams of magic flowing around him. If one was to look upon the scene, they would say the magic danced around the room, flowing here and there without a clear direction.

Upon the wall were glittering stones that shone with obvious magical properties. Some with an inner fire, others with blowing winds, etc. Each were unique in their own way and incomparable to anything else.

However, all of this paled in comparison to the being in the middle of the room. Floating a foot off a slightly raised platform, the magical being, for it could only be magical, didn't have a physical body. It was made of pure magic condensed into the shape of a body. Throughout its body flowed the same colors of magic that floated around the room.

Its hair was thin strands of golden magic, constantly shifting as if a wind was blowing through the room. Its legs were crossed with its hands resting on its knees. Its eyes were shut, but anyone could guess that it didn't need eyes to 'see.' The magic around the room flowed through him unimpeded on its random journey around the room.

This being was known as Azriel, Magic's chosen. Currently in his true form, the guardian was as one with magic as any being could possibly attain. For over a thousand years, Ariel had stayed in his meditative trance without any disturbance.

However, a ripple of magic spread across the room, disturbing the tranquil place. As the ripple vanished, the magical streams resumed their dance around the room. On the other hand, the being in the middle shivered before slowly opening his eyes, revealing glowing white eyes.

As Azriel slowly became aware once again, he took in his surroundings to find what had disrupted his magic. Spreading out his senses, he could find no residue of what had awoken him.

He was about to go back into a meditative trance when another, now distinctive, ripple spread across his magic. Eyes widening, he immediately assumed a different trance to answer the call.

Opening up his mind and magic up to the fullest, he accepted Magic's message into him. At first it was a conglomeration of impulses, but soon Azriel was able to put them in order and make a message out of it.

Apparently, a major point in history just occurred, and Magic needed his help. Other than that, he could feel a pull towards somewhere northwest of him. Not knowing where he was going or what he would encounter, he trusted magic, and after changing into his human form, he teleported.

If any residents happened to be awake and looking out of their windows, they would have been surprised to see someone appear out of thin air, as if he was already standing their. If they would have guessed his age, they would say he was in his later teens. Long black hair tied in a ponytail was blowing in the slight breeze while sky blue eyes scanned the surroundings. Luckily for Azriel, it was not considered 'proper behavior' to be up this late at night, so he didn't need to worry about being spotted.

The once magical room turned into a dark night filled with rows of houses. He stood on some type of paved road and the houses he saw were of a strange design, not including how they were all in a row. Though, he knew a large amount of time had passed, so tastes would change too.

However, what stood out the most was the bright wards around one of the same looking houses. He walked to the bright house and turned into his true form to pass through the wards unhindered.

As he walked towards the door, he studied the wards and mentally broke it down. The strongest ones were blood wards, though, having them didn't make sense. Blood wards had to be powered every other month, depending on the strength, or have a continuous source of magic. In an ancestral magical home, magical residue would most likely be enough. However, this muggle neighborhood had no such magical source, so he wondered what would power it.

Starting to get slightly suspicious, he further identified even more wards. There was aa alert ward that if the child's life was ever in danger, it would alert the caster. He saved the magical signature in case he needed it later. There was also a log of a sort that recorded the comings and goings of everybody, additionally, beings with magic would send an alert. There were other basic one too, such as anti-tracking, though the blood wards pretty much had those covered.

He raised his hand to knock when a slight glow below him caught his attention. He looked down and it took a second for him to understand what he saw. He quickly checked the temperature and time. 45 degrees and 3:00 am … yep. Looked down again. Baby on the doorstep with only a thin blanket covering him … yep.

He absently casted a warming charm on the shivering baby when he sensed no charms already around it. A slight tick formed on his forehead at the 'forethought' of whoever placed this child on a _doorstep_ in the _cold_ months. Were they trying to kill the child?

He sighed and picked up the sleeping child. At first glance, it looked like a healthy baby boy. Chubby cheeks and hands, though slightly blue from the cold. A thick mop of hair in need a good brushing stood out against his pale skin. However, as he brushed his hair off his forehead, a spike of magic went up his fingers.

Curious as to what it was, he noticed a bright red scar in the shape of a lightning bolt. Frowning a little and wondering why it wasn't healed, he sent a tendril of his magic to the scar and was surprised with what he felt.

Inside the scar, he felt a piece of a soul. He only slightly wondered why someone would place their soul in a living being. One of his old friends did a ritual to split his soul and put it in a container in order to live longer and complete his goal. Though, this soul piece wasn't separated properly, so it was probably a beginner messing with magic they shouldn't. After examining it, he tried to think of a reason the main soul would leave his soul piece on a muggle doorstep instead of protecting the child.

Unless, someone stole the child knowing what was inside him. The person obviously didn't know how to take it out and was unable to kill a child … or the person was trying to indirectly kill the child by leaving it on a doorstep at three in the morning. He sighed as held the baby. He wouldn't find anything else out by standing there.

He also measured the child's magical strength and saw he would be around average strength. Guessing that this child would play an important role in history, judging how Magic sent him to the child, average wouldn't be good enough. Though he could be important for political reasons.

Thinking on how to fix this whole mess, he could easily create a magical stone that could power the wards until the child was of age, so the wards would no longer be a problem. Nodding, he was about to knock on the door to awaken the house's inhabitants when he felt another pull.

Slightly frowning, he studied the message and was shocked with what Magic wanted. It wanted him to train this child to be prepared for anything the world could throw at him. Azriel couldn't imagine how important this child must be to require _years_ of his training.

Slightly shrugging, he set the child back in the basket and lifted the basket up. He searched the house for the people inside and found a couple in one room and a child around the same age as the one he was holding in another.

Nodding his head, he took the wards' link off his child and put it on the other. Even if the child wasn't magical, it still had the same family blood, though it was quite deluded. Double checking to make sure everything settled correctly, he focused on the ground underneath the house and transfigured a clump of dirt in a large diamond. The transfiguration would last around 20 years, plenty of time to train the child. He sent a minute amount of his power into the mineral and watched as the blood wards hooked onto this new and purer source of magic.

After checking to make sure everything was settled, he erased any sign of his coming before teleporting out of there. He now had a charge he needed to take care of and raise to the best of his potential. This should be a new and interesting experience.

~~~AN~~~

Hey guys! These next few chapters will have a fillerish feel to them as I get to the main part of the story. So you get more telling of what happened instead of a proper showing (English lesson 101 ;) Anyway, hope this has peaked your interest and you continue on!


	3. Ages 2-5

Azriel teleported back into the magical room to conjure up a plan. He was now the guardian of a child that will have a drastic effect on future events. He was also assigned to train him to the best of the child's potential, which would take a while. If he remembered correctly, 17 was when wizarding children became of age, so he had until then to train him.

However, he didn't want to make his life only about training and having as much power as he could get. So, possibly a daycare for his younger years until he was old enough to go to school. However, if he did this, the child's schedule would be incredibly full. School and magical training … well, he'll have to see how it goes when they get there.

He looked back to the basket he was carrying and was surprised to see a letter. ' _How did I miss that? Oh, right, more worried about a freezing child on a doorstep._ ' A little leftover anger resurfaced, but he pushed it back down. He would remember this but wouldn't allow it to change his next actions.

Opening it up, it talked about how the child's parents, James and Lily Potter, were murdered by a dark lord and Petunia was the last living relative of the child, which he now knew was Harry Potter.

Apparently, it was this Albus Dumbledore that put up all the wards. He now had a name to the ignorant fool who didn't know anything about blood wards. As he continued reading, it became obvious that it was this Dumbledore that left Harry on the doorstep. So, he was an ignorant fool and a possible murderer, though he doubted he left the child there to die judging by the tone of the letter.

Finishing it off, it went on to tell this Petunia that the dark lord had many followers that would love to get their revenge on Harry. He needed to stay under wards to be protected until his seventeenth birthday, which was when the wards would fall. Azriel found it odd how Dumbledore stressed that having Harry with them would also protect their family. All in all it didn't paint a pretty picture.

Folding it back up, he walked up to a dark green gem and lightly touched the letter to it. Instantly, the letter was sucked up and disappeared from his hand. Storage gems sure were amazing.

Going back to the child, he cast many medical spells to make sure Harry was in top form. Physically, he was as healthy as a child his age was supposed to be. Though, he would need glasses when he was older. He contemplated fixing it, but decided that he would allow Harry to do it as a magical challenge.

Magically, Azriel wondered if he should help Harry out since he played such a major role. Nodding his head, he went about increasing Harry's power. He slowly let his magic invade Harry's magical core, layering it against its walls. As Harry breathed in, Azriel slowly let his magic expand with the breath as he lightly chanted a spell.

If anyone else were to do this, they would have a 100% degree of failure because a magical core wasn't supposed to let other magical forces invade it. However, Azriel's magic was so pure that any source of magic would readily accept it into itself.

So, he spent the next couple of hours slowly expanding Harry's core until he was satisfied. He judged how much he should increase Harry's magic by his past disciple's potential. Merlin was such an extraordinary fellow so he wanted Harry to be just like him when he grew up. When he was done, Harry's core was the size as Merlin's would have been when he was at Harry's age.

However, as he watched the new magic start to assimilate into Harry's body, he noticed that it moved almost sluggishly. Casting another scan, searching for the reason, he encountered two magical blocks

One, he guessed, was from Harry's parent's. This one kept the majority of his magic inside his body, thus decreasing accidental magic that would mess with surroundings. The other one caused another tick mark to appear on his forehead. This one blocked around 30% of Harry's magical potential … and it had _Dumbledore's_ signature on it. He didn't even want to imagine what those wards would have done to Harry when it could only gather from 70% of his core.

He sighed and canceled both of them. Magical children shouldn't be limited in any way. And if he ever did magic in school, he would immediately know and fix the mess before anything became of it. He smiled when he saw the magic flow as it should.

Next, he looked towards the soul shard. He still didn't know enough about the circumstance to really mess with it. Did the dark lord try to kill the child because Harry held another's soul? Azriel knew it wasn't Dumbledore's soul since the magical signature didn't match, so that was a relief. He sighed, guessing wouldn't ever lead to an answer.

Though, as he studied the link, he noticed that the shard was actually siphoning magic from Harry. He frowned. Soul shards didn't need magic to sustain itself, so why was it sucking magic. After a few more minutes, he concluded that the ritual embedding the soul shard into Harry was never completed. The soul shard wasn't properly placed inside Harry, so it needed Harry's magic to keep it into place.

Nodding, he simply finished the ritual and sectioned off the soul shard from Harry's magic, watching the bright red scar heal and fade into a thin, white bolt … However, what happens if the main soul wanted it that way? With a magical link, magical abilities of the shard could be shared with Harry.

Checking to see if there were any, he was surprised to see Parseltongue was there. He smiled at the memories it brought up. Salazar was an interesting friend he had during the end of his Hogwarts' years. He was a very serious person who wanted to get the job done in the quickest and most efficient way possible. However, he was also a kind person deep down for those he cared for.

As to not alert the main soul that Azriel changed something should Harry ever meet him, Azriel assimilated the Parseltongue ability into Harry directly from the soul shard. Checking once again for any other abilities, he found none so left it alone. He would allow Harry to decide what he wanted to do with it once he grew older and learned more of the situation.

When he finished with all his scans, he watched the child rest peaceful and the curious magic flowed around Harry, sometimes poking him as if feeling him out. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he bent down and picked up the child.

He smiled softly down at the sleeping baby and already knew he was hooked. This would be his first child and couldn't even imagine what little Harry would make him do with his puppy eyes. He sighed resignedly, but with a smile, as he imagined a young Harry asking to ride a dragon through the skies or run with the centaurs during the solstice.

Giving Harry a quick hug before putting him back down, he left to do some information gathering and finding a nice place to settle down. Azriel wanted Harry to have a stable life without complications coming with his past. In order to do that, starting a life in a different country with a different name was the obvious choice.

Even if someone suspected Harry's 'kidnapper' to do that very same thing, it wasn't like they could search the whole planet and connect their fake identities with their real ones.

So, oversees would be smart, though he had no idea how populated they were. It had been a thousand years after all. Shrugging, he teleported across the ocean blue, ready to start a new chapter in history.

~~~The Disciple~~~

Azriel spent the next month learning as much as he could about the muggle world while also taking care of Harry. He was amazed how far humans had progressed in a millennium. He debated scoping out the wizarding world, but decided not to in the end. It would a challenge a future Harry might enjoy.

After days of searching for a place to live, he settled for a modest home in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia. It was a nice out-of-the-way place but populated enough area to have a small school and several stores. He somehow got lucky enough to have an old lady as a neighbor, though still several miles away, who ran a small daycare for some other children around the area.

Azriel also set up false identities for them. Though they were pretty much the same except for the last name. Harry was now named Hadrian James Wynncraft. Azriel wanted to keep his name basically the same, and with the name Hadrian, he could still use Harry as his nickname. His name was now Azriel Dallan Wynncraft. He never had any other name than Azriel so adding the others was just because he liked the name.

Their backstory was a sad tale about two brothers being abandoned by a noble family in another continent. They were bastards of a nobleman, who was an heir at the time of conception, so they were hidden away as a disgrace. Luckily, the nobleman cared enough to ship them off to another continent instead of being killed with a small amount of money to get a foothold on their own. Azriel, of course, glamoured himself to look 18, the adult age in America.

While he was getting everything set up for them to live peacefully, Azriel made sure to keep a constant watch on little Harry. Harry was a kind child with a lot of inner strength. One day when Azriel took him out to look at the house, he let Harry play in an old garden, keeping a good watch on him of course, and saw Harry chasing, or wobbling, after a butterfly. When Harry finally caught it, Azriel felt slight pity for the small insect. However, he softly smiled when Harry opened his hands and the butterfly flew out.

Harry was a curious child and felt the need to touch _everything_ , luckily, he didn't try to stick everything in his mouth. Azriel actually had to levitate him away from a hill when he got to close, absently noting to put a ward there to prevent Harry from falling.

Whenever Harry and Azriel were in the magical underground room, Azriel liked to watch the magical streams play with Harry. At first, it was quite hilarious to watch as it seemed the magic was curious at the new addition. Though, it soon accepted Harry wholeheartedly and played with his hair and tickling him sometimes. Magic must have been in a playful mood.

In no time at all, they moved into their new home and Azriel saw Harry off to daycare. He was only slightly surprised when he felt a slight sense of loss dropping him off. Jeez, he was already acting like a mother letting go of her child for the first time. Azriel did smile a little when curious Harry, who immediately went to explore, waved back at him, somehow sensing Azriel was going to leave. Azriel sighed; Harry really was extraordinary.

Time went on with nothing out of the ordinary happening. He got a job at a small bakery in town and helped out the owner, Martha Jones, with anything that was needed. He soon became very popular with everyone once they tasted his baking. Of course, he just memorized how Martha baked everything and experimented on his own with a little help from magic to find the 'perfect' recipe.

Harry made friends with everyone and had many play dates, some even turning into parties with how many loved spending time with Harry.

However, the beginning was tough. He had to prove that he had the ability and assets to take care of Harry multiple times to the people. They never outright demanded it, but the suspicious and concerned glances he got for the first year were obvious.

Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary happened … until Harry turned five.

Harry's first bout of accidental magic occurred during recess only a month into kindergarten. Surprisingly, it was used on another instead for Harry himself. Harry and his friends were playing on a horizontal ladder when one child decided to climb on top of the bars. Of course, balance is not a forte of children and he fell off the side when he tried to show off.

Luckily, Harry's panic caused his magic to react and slow down the fall enough so the child only got a skinned knee, though that was due more to the mulch than the actual fall. Thankfully, no one older than five saw the full incident, and no five-year-old would exclaim about the unnaturalness of the situation other than be just surprised it happened.

While Azriel didn't hide his magic, he didn't really show it off either. However, Harry was a smart child. There were some instances that Harry saw 'his big brother' do strange things that shouldn't be possible. Azriel would always say 'magic' when asked how he did it, but Harry always thought he was kidding.

But after this, Harry, in five-year-old excitement, jumped onto Azriel when he got picked up and exclaimed that he did magic today! Of course, they were with all the other parents then so it was probably a cute site to them.

Azriel, on the other hand, was over the moon. Magic at five was amazing! He made sure to congratulate Harry before taking him home. The people around them only thought the scene was even cuter.

When they got home, Azriel decided it was finally time to explain everything to Harry. He talked about an entire world out there that was full of magic that Harry could do. When asked when he would get to see it, Azriel responded that people were after Harry and that was why they were hiding in the muggle world. Of course, Harry wasn't happy with that but was, obviously, out argued when Harry could only bring pouts and puppy eyes to the table. Though those puppy eyes just about did Azriel in.

And with the storytelling over, Azriel told Harry that now that he performed his first act of magic, it was time to start his magical training. Harry was ecstatic for the first week, but soon found out that magical training could be very repetitive and boring in the beginning stages. However, Harry kept with it, because whenever he made progress, he always enjoyed watching a smile light up Azriel's face and listening to his praise. He really was the best big brother anyone could ask for.


	4. Ages 6-10

For the next several years, Harry explored magic in its base form. In the beginning, Harry had to find his own core, which was much harder than initially thought. Through trial and error and many questions to Azriel, Harry concluded one major fact. Magic was like a sixth sense that mages never knew they had.

Through concentration and much practice, mages can use magic to interact with the world around them. One can use it to 'see' the true forms of objects. How colorful energy flows smoothly in living things, but has almost nonexistent movement in nonliving objects. One can use it to enhance their sense of touch or even use it to touch something unreachable. Azriel showed Harry that no matter where Harry went in the house, Azriel could always interact with him, could always see him.

While Harry was amazed, he also got the underlining message that it was pretty much impossible to get away with anything that Azriel wouldn't want him doing.

Of course, it took months of constant meditation just to find his own core. The very first, but most important, stage in magical training. But when he found it, it was an experience he would never forget. A never-ending ocean was the closest comparison he could think to describe what he felt. When he was finally able to merge himself in it, his body felt as light as a feather but as strong as a boulder.

From there, his next task was spreading it throughout every part of his body. At first, he tried to force it to follow his direction, but every time he failed. It wasn't until he asked Azriel that he figured out what he was doing wrong.

As he already knew, Azriel was Magic's chosen. What he didn't know, was that Magic _consciously_ created Azriel to do Its bidding. That meant that Magic was at least a semi sentient being, though he was leaning more towards fully sentient. Azriel got the message through to Harry by saying, 'If you were magic, would you want to be forced to do something, or would you rather to be kindly asked to follow the path your partner is making?'

That quick but paramount lesson changed his whole view on magic. Instead of expecting magic to follow his every direction, he should instead treat it as his best friend and work together to complete his goal.

That's not to say Harry flew through his magical lessons by asking magic to do whatever he wanted. No, Harry took that lesson as magic needing to be befriended, even if he didn't want something from it.

So, that's what Harry did. While he practiced his lessons with magic every day, sometimes he would meditate and immerse himself with magic. Let it flow through him while he shared his experiences with it. Because that is what made a stranger become a best friend to Harry. He would want to know everything about a new friend, so, why would it be any different for magic?

As he was figuring this all out, his lessons continued. His three main goals were the following: feel the magic flowing through him, guide it to flow through every part of his body and focus the flow to build it up in different parts of his body.

Two straight years of practice allowed him to feel confident enough in the first two objectives to move on to the third. However, he soon encountered a problem. He was having a hard time getting his magic to follow his direction. He thought about asking Azriel but decided against it. He wanted to work with magic and figure it out himself.

It took a couple of weeks, but he finally understood his problem when he got frustrated enough with it to yell out, "Why am I doing such a pointless task!?"

Right when he finished, it clicked. Azriel always talked about that if there is a will, there is a way. If he believed that he could do it, he would do it. Without the will do something, it would never get done.

Harry's problem stemmed from not understanding why he needed to do the task. Because of this, he didn't have enough will to complete the lesson. Why do something that you see no purpose in doing?

So, he asked Azriel to explain the purpose of this lesson.

Azriel looked at him for a couple seconds before explaining. "There are many uses in being able to build up your magic in specific areas of your body. Hmm, I'll give you a physical example that will be needed when you start dueling."

As quick as lightning, Azriel struck Harry's arm with two fingers. Harry yelped and jumped back. However, he soon found out that he couldn't move his arm no matter how much he tried. He even tried flowing magic through it but found some sort of block preventing it from going any further.

Azriel continued like he didn't just attack Harry. "As you see, with a simple touch I was to disable your entire arm." He jabbed that same spot and Harry was relieved to gain back control of his arm, though it was slightly sore. "Now, this can be prevented by gathering magic at that one spot, thus covering your acupressure point. Try gathering magic at the same spot."

Nodding Harry closes his eyes and followed Azriel's instruction. Focusing, he guided his magic to that same spot. He was pleasantly surprised to feel his magic healing the soreness until there was nothing left. He nodded once he felt he gathered enough.

The sharp jab almost made him lose concentration, but he was able to hold the magic in place, even though his arm was sore again. When he came back to himself, he noticed that while his arm was sore, he could still move it.

Azriel smiled at his understanding. "As you can see, magic can be used in many ways. In this scenario, it was used to block your acupressure points. It can also be used to harden your body to prevent piercing, heal small wounds, as you found out with the soreness, and so much more. I'll let you discover more uses as you learn more of magic.

"Of course, it took you fifteen minutes to focus your magic on that one spot." He paused and chuckled at Harry's look of shock. "Yes, it took you quite a while, but practice makes perfect. After repetitive practice, the time and effort it takes to complete this task will dwindle down until you can do it instantly. Magic will flow through your body just as your blood does. Once you get to this level, your physical defense will be nigh impenetrable when fighting without weapons. Of course, it will take at least a decade of constant practice to get anywhere near this level." He paused and looked at Harry when he saw his determined look. "You think you're up for it?"

Harry didn't even have to think. "Yes."

Harry progressed much faster after that lesson. By the age of eight, he was ready to move on to the next stage of magical training, bringing magic outside his body.

This, like every other lesson, turned out to be much harder than he thought. Magic liked to stay connected to his core. Thus, it was back to the frustrating beginnings of a new lesson. However, what excited Harry about mastering this lesson was that, upon completion, he would be able to enter the library.

Of course, nothing was so simple for Harry that Azriel would just open the door once he completed the lesson. No, the key to opening the door was the final objective to this lesson. The door would send out a pulse at a certain level that Harry had to match. That, in itself, wasn't hard. What made it difficult was that he had to do this in two seconds flat.

So, Harry decided to take Azriel's advice and start small before trying for the door (though he did try once, just to see of course). He started on focusing his magic to pool in his hand. In essence, he created a small ball of light made of his pure magic. It turned out that his magic's color was the same emerald green as his eyes.

Smiling that his magic was just like him, he next focused his magic into a rope like shape. Once completed, he manipulated it to move around like a worm and made it grow bigger and smaller.

At first, Harry didn't understand why Azriel made him do this, but decided that following his advice would lead him to the answer in the end. As long as he believed he needed to do it, then he would get it done.

During this time, he also was training in levitation. He started small with basic up and down motion, but soon moved on to more advanced movements and speeds. 2D came easily with a little practice, but 3D was a lot harder, definitely when making the object go faster.

The final objective in levitation was moving multiple objects around in different directions. Which, to his shame, took him over six months to get down. However, Azriel told him that with practice, his magic would get to the point where it was instinctual, and he need only to _think_ of moving something and it would.

At the age of nine and a half, he tried the door again. He was surprised that he matched the pulse much quicker than when he first tried it. It wasn't until his fifth try on the constantly changing pulses that he figured out why his previous exercises helped.

Bringing out his magic was required to send out pulses, so the first was obvious. However, the rope manipulation stumped him until this moment. Manipulating the rope required a certain amount of strength. If he was too heavy handed, the magic would be sporadic. If he didn't use enough, it either wouldn't form or wouldn't move. When he made it bigger, it would require more magic than when he made it smaller.

These exercises were training him to use different levels of magic to complete the lesson. Once he understood that, he was finally able to match the pulse in two seconds. He jumped up as high as he could and exclaimed at the top of his lungs, "I did it!"

However, when he tried to open the door, he found it to still be locked and felt it send out a pulse. Frowning and assuming he had to open the door right when he unlocked it, he spent the next couple of minutes trying to match the pulse.

When he succeeded, he immediately tried to open the door but was surprised when he felt another pulse right after he completed the first. Dawning horror swept through him when he realized that he had to consecutively match pulses until the door was unlocked. "NOOOOOO!" Harry swore he heard distant laughter coming from the kitchen.

It was actually on his tenth birthday that he finally succeeded in unlocking the library door. Ten consecutive pulses that had to be matched in less than two seconds or else the entire sequence would restart was finally completed. When he heard the door unlock, all Harry could do was fall to the ground in relief and exhaustion. He woke up early and was at the door for three hours straight; he was going to get in the room one way or another.

Azriel was apparently in a good mood and gave Harry some of his energy to pick him back up so he could explore the library. When he got his first look inside, he was struck speechless with his jaw hanging open.

Their house was a modest home with two stories and around 1700 square feet. Inside, there were very few magical objects since Harry's muggle friends would come over every once in a while after school, and the objects that were magical weren't obvious.

The library, on the other hand, spanned at least 4000 square feet and was a little more than three stories high. There was a comfy sitting area tucked away near the entrance, but the rest of the area was filled with bookshelves upon bookshelves with all types of books. Old and new, straight and crinkled, paper and leather, black and white. No two books were the same.

"I'm glad you like it." The quiet voice brought Harry back into the physical realm and he beamed up at Azriel. "Thank you!" Azirel laughed as he hugged Harry. "No problem, Harry. Since it's your birthday, I won't require you to start your new assignment, but I expect you to start tomorrow."

Harry gave Azriel a confused look since he hadn't gotten a new assignment yet. However, when Azriel smiled such a sweet smile at him, a small, but getting bigger, thought in the back of his head was telling him that he probably should have taken longer to open the door.

"From now on, you are required to read at least one book a week. However, if they are 200 pages or smaller, then you will be required to read two. At the end of the week, I'll quiz you to make sure you are actually retaining the information instead of just reading it. Of course, if you're already reading a book and I need you to read another, then I'll make an exception … or I may just make you read both." Azriel shrugged like it was nothing, but Harry's horror filled face definitely said it wasn't _nothing_.

However, Harry sighed as he knew Azriel wouldn't change his mind. Anyway, Harry knew that whatever Azriel did was for Harry's benefit. So, once again with determination flowing through him, he nodded his head.

On a more positive note, what made this day so special was a present from Azriel that was the next stepping stone in the magical arts, a magical focus.

They didn't talk too much about magical foci, but Harry knew a ring was the first one. Ring foci were used for moderate to advance spells. While wands could do the same, a ring had a lower cast time. Wands were better at detail and/or precision work, basically spell crafting and enchanting. The final foci were staves. Staves were used for the spells that could drastically affect the earth. Changing the weather, causing natural disasters and creating massive golems were just some of the uses.

When Harry saw the small wrapped gift the size of a ring box, his heart just about stopped. He gingerly unwrapped it, not even tearing the paper like he did with the others. When he opened the box, he gasped and took the ring out.

It was a silver ring with Celtic designs going around the band. A ruby stone was faceted in the ring with a small silver circle holding it in. Inside the ruby was the alchemic symbol for balance. A perfect symbol for a disciple of Magic.

He barely registered putting it on his right ring finger. It was a perfect fit and he could feel his magic already checking it out. Unlike wands, a ring can bond to anyone. However, in order to bond, the ring has to be constantly used and basically be soaked in the user's magic. Throughout time, the ring's composition will slightly change to best match the user. Once it was done, usually after a few years, the ring will be fully bonded and only be wielded by the user.

The next year was primarily spent in the library during his free time. He soon found out that he enjoyed reading and breezed through at least two thick books a week, though he asked Azriel many questions on what some theory meant.

Azriel also had him start physically training. It was nothing strenuous luckily. It mainly consisted of stretching and running around the house with very small bits of pushups and sit ups. Azriel said that they would start weights once he grew up some more, which made Harry sigh in relief and wish he didn't have to grow up.

All in all, the year past quickly, and he was looking forward to studying specific branches of magic when he turned eleven. For some reason, Azriel was very specific about eleven being the age to start actively studying the different branches of magic. Though, he may or may not have practiced a few basic charms, such as the lumos charm … considering Azriel didn't say anything, it was okay … right?


	5. Ages 11-12

His eleventh year was by far his most interesting, yet frustrating, year so far. His favorite lessons were the practical sides of basic transfiguration and charms. He started with the incantations in the books, but once he successfully casted the spell, he had one week to learn how to silently cast it. Luckily, Azriel didn't give him a deadline to learn the ringless casting too.

By the end of the year, he was proficient in transfiguring a 12X12 box into any other inanimate thing he could imagine with a good bit of leeway in changing density and weight. Azriel even said he was proceeding faster than he thought he would and already started him on inanimate to animate training.

Charms was his favorite because of how versatile it could be. Azriel explained and showed how even beginner level spells could win duels. The lumos charm could provide a soft reading light or it could be as bright as the sun. The levitation spell could be used to safely climb a cliff or used to throw someone up in the air. Such simple spells he learned in his first week could possibly be the handiest spells he would ever learn.

His next favorite lesson was runes. He seemed to have a knack for them as he was recreating his basic spells with runic configurations soon enough. Of course, he still had a long way to go in the more advanced configurations and using them in battle.

Potions, while interesting, seemed kind of boring to him. He could already tell by the fifth potion that he didn't want to make a career out of it. He, of course, saw the value in it. Instead of using magic to heal your wounds, a quick sip of a potion could do it for you. In battle, every ounce of magic was important … or so Azriel said, though he seemed to always be right.

With all these lessons, his time was a little crunched between school and magic training. Luckily, Azriel thought ahead and confounded the whole staff into thinking he attended electives. The only classes he attended were science, math, history, English and PE. He also got to choose an after-school club and eventually decided to join the band.

While usually he would have chosen a sport, he remembered reading a book about imbuing magic into instruments. The magic produced was totally different than spells and affected the mind more than anything. Even if he wasn't trying to cast a spell with it, it would still enhance his playing to be almost hypnotic.

When Harry asked Azriel to show him how to magically play an instrument, Azriel walked over to the piano they had in the house. It only took one note to hook him on his path. The whole song only cemented the decision to never give up no matter the challenge. The sound coming out below Azriel's fingers was so captivating that he was lost in a trance even after the song had finished.

Thus, Harry joined the after-school band and took lessons from Azriel. Of course, he had to choose an instrument before he could even start. Azriel's favorite instrument was the piano, but Harry didn't want to copy Azriel, and while beautiful, it just didn't seem right under his fingers. It was like his magic couldn't quite connect with it.

It took going to three music stores and watching many musicals until he finally found his calling. When he picked up the instrument, he felt a zing go through his body and gasped in surprise. Putting it on top of his shoulder and against his neck, he brought the bow to the string and lightly pulled across the cords.

His magic sang as the violin's sound spread through the shop. That single note stopped the other customers and even the manager himself. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes as he felt true piece. It was like a missing part he didn't even know he was missing was found.

After quickly buying the violin from the shocked shopkeeper, he dedicated a good bit of his time to practicing. Of course, he didn't let his newfound passion distract him from his other studies. Azriel would have taken away his lovely violin and he might have cried if that happened. It gave him shivers even thinking about it.

Another branch of magic that was time consuming, but actually quite relaxing, was Occlumency. The protection of the mind against intruders while also giving the practitioner better memory recall and thought processing.

Even if someone was not magical, they could create some basic barriers around their mind. However, they were limited and any decent Legilimency could easily get past those barriers.

With magic, the defenses that could be created were only limited to the imagination and the amount of time put into it. He could create an entire world that would represent his mind, or just one little house keeping everything inside. It was up to the user how he decided to protect the mind.

Harry decided to build a castle brick by brick. Occlumency was a subject that was almost purely self-taught. Every mind was unique, which meant there was no proper path to follow. However, the little that was the same was very important.

When building defenses, one could easily imagine a house and it would be there filled with their memories. Quick and easy. However, that would stand up against an attack for barely half of a second. To build sturdy defenses, one needs to imbue magic into everything they build.

For Harry, that meant put his best effort into each brick of his castle. A year later, He had only completed a quarter of his castle. However, what he had created got a surprised look from Azriel when Harry invited him into his mind.

Apparently, his walls were 'spectacular' and could probably resist most anything by themselves once completed. Though, Harry had no intention of stopping at just a castle. He wanted any would be intruder to fully regret ever stepping into his mind. Hehehe.

Though, getting so good at Occlumency allowed him to easily bring up frustrating memories too, such as the time during a glamor lesson.

"Azriel, if glamors can make it impossible to identify someone, why can't we go out into the wizarding world?" Harry remembered the conversation when he was younger about how he was found and left on a doorstep. He agreed that it would be best if no one found him, so he didn't step one foot into the magical world.

However, if he could change his entire physique, why couldn't he go? "We don't know if whoever put you on that doorstep has any way of tracking you," Azriel responded.

… "Can't you just put an anti-tracking ward around me … you are magic personified." And wasn't that an interesting conversation. Apparently, his guardian was the representative of magic and in charge of keeping the world in balance, or at least not letting it be destroyed. No wonder he was so good at magic.

"Haaa," Azriel sighed. "You finally caught me. It is a challenge I have set upon you. As you have probably noticed, the magical history books only lead up to 1890. As a final challenge from me when you turn seventeen, our training together will be over and you'll be sent out into the world. You will have to find your way in the magical world with the tools I have/will have given you. Until then, no trips to the wizarding world for you." Harry pouted as he continued his lesson.

While Azriel was the coolest and nicest person Harry had ever known, for some reason, he loved to constantly challenge him. Sometimes he would surprise him by shortening the deadline for his current task or even giving him only parts of a task and being made to finish it without fully understanding what he even had to do!

However, after he completed each challenge, he knew he was better off in the long run and was learning many lessons in one. Azriel's proud smile may have helped a little bit.

During the weekends, they took many trips around the world learning about various cultures and creatures. What was so amazing about this was that Azriel manipulated time to take them to the height of many civilizations and learn directly from the source. His favorite so far was Greece, though the Aztecs were a close second.

Also, each year Azriel said they would learn about a different being's culture. This year was the Veelas. As to not ruin the challenge, Harry could only study Veela culture up until 100 years ago. Stupid challenge.

Learning about the various creatures took the majority of his weekend lessons, which was fine with him. While most were small, harmless creatures, he did get to meet two of the most well-known magical creatures in the muggle world. The phoenix and the unicorn.

He watched and interacted with a mating pair of phoenixs for three months and even got to watch a baby phoenix being born, something probably no other magical being could claim.

The first birth of a phoenix was when it was most vulnerable, and if something ate the egg with the baby bird in it, it would extend the predator's lifetime at least a thousand years and could even enhance its magical properties. Because of this, phoenix eggs were highly sought after by other magical beings. Luckily for Harry, having the backing of Azriel allowed the phoenixs to trust him to not take advantage of their vulnerable baby.

When the baby phoenix finally hatched, it was the most breathtaking thing he had ever seen. He watched as small, orange cracks spread across the egg. However, the cracks formed into glowing spiral patterns until the individual pieces started to burn up and be absorbed into the phoenix.

Azriel later told him that the egg is what essentially gave the phoenix immortality and was also the reason phoenixs had such a low reproductive rate. The egg itself was made from condensed phoenix magic that took at least 500 years to form. That magic would be absorbed into the baby phoenix once it hatched, thus giving it immortality.

The next amazing creature, the unicorn, was also a sight to behold. Just like with the phoenix, he spent three months interacting with a herd of unicorns. The calm waves they naturally produced were some of the most serene moments he had and probably would ever experience.

He was even lucky enough to play with two colts. Though, there was one day when he actually saved a unicorn's life. It was a magical hunter that somehow found the herd. He was playing hide and seek with the colts when a man slowly walked past where Harry was hiding.

The man crouched not even three feet from his hiding spot and took out his wand. Harry was a little jealous considering he had to wait for who knew how long until he got a wand. He frowned when the man raised his wand towards some rustling bushes.

His eyes widened in shock as his friend walked out, most likely looking for him and totally oblivious to the man … hunter. As the man opened his mouth to no doubt kill the unicorn, Harry thrust out his hand and focused all he had into the first spell that popped into his mind, the one he just mastered yesterday. "BOMBARDA!"

A huge explosion rocketed the man in front of him like a bullet into a tree ten feet away. Blinking rapidly and waiting for the ringing to stop, he got up from his hiding spot as the whole heard burst through the forest, no doubt worried about what caused the explosion.

However, Harry only had eyes for the crumpled form at the base of the tree. While the man's jacket seemed to be enchanted enough to withstand his spell, his neck was bent the wrong way. A soft nuzzle on his shoulder brought him back from his thoughts to see the herd leader staring at him worryingly. That's when he noticed that he had tears running down his cheeks.

He shot towards the unicorn and wrapped his small arms around its neck, bawling his eyes out. He couldn't even form words. Azriel always told him that every life was precious and needless death that humans seemed to love to partake in always made Azriel sad.

Would Azriel hate him for killing the man? He was about to kill his friend, but he could have stunned him. He could have disarmed him. He could have done so many things that wouldn't have resulted in death, but he killed him.

He didn't know how long he cried, but soon he felt a hand rest upon his shoulder. Already knowing it was Azriel, since the unicorns wouldn't let anyone else approach, he slowly let go of the unicorn and turned around with his head down. He didn't want to see Azriel's disappointed look.

Two fingers pushed his chin up and he couldn't help but look into Azriel's eyes. He choked on a sob when he only saw understanding in those eyes. Azriel wasn't mad at him. He didn't blame him. Switching the unicorn for Azriel, he cried the rest of the tears on him until he was breathing deeply against Azriel's chest.

"There is nothing to cry about, Harry. While all life is precious, those who take a life for greed or enjoyment don't deserve your tears. While killing the man may not have been the best answer, no one here would blame you. Look around Harry, they are anything but hateful."

Harry looked around and met each unicorns' eyes. While they couldn't speak in words, images and emotions were just as good, and with what he was receiving, he couldn't help the few tears that leaked out. They all were thankful and were sympathetic that he had to experience such a thing, not disgusted that he killed.

After he composed himself, the head unicorn walked up to him and leaned his head down until his horn was pointing straight at him. He thought he was being thanked, so he was about to say that he would do anything for his friend.

However, he was surprised when the tip of his horn lightly touched his chest, right above his heart. He felt pure magic flow into him and gasped at the indescribable feeling. It was pure hope and happiness that rushed into him and filled him up. He felt like he could do anything. Even after his high faded, he still could feel a faint pulse of that magic running through his veins, pulsing with every beat of his heart.

Not knowing why, he took off his shirt and saw a beautiful, silvery mark that could only be a unicorn head with its spiral horn pointing towards his middle. Its mane was glittering silver strands that blew in the wind and its body was connected to a crescent moon that extended almost to the point of the horn. All in all, it was breathtaking.

"Thank you," he whispered. The unicorn nodded its head and turned around before leaving. The others followed with both colts nuzzling him goodbye. He knew they had to leave so another hunter wouldn't find them, and he had already stayed long enough.

"That mark the herd leader bestowed upon you is a representation of their trust. Should any creature ever fear you or think you untrustworthy, release the magic of the mark. As long as you are honest, that mark will forever shine and even be a beacon of hope in the dark for those who need it. Stay true to yourself, Harry, and I guarantee that you will be able to accomplish anything."

Harry looked up to Azriel and matched the soft smile in thanks. He would do as Azriel said. He couldn't, wouldn't dishonor the gift bestowed to him by his friends. He wouldn't be staying true to himself if he did that.

His twelfth year ended up being better and worse than last year. The main reason being dueling practice. He enjoyed learning the various dueling techniques, both honorable and dishonorable, and the many spells one could use to win against your opponent.

Azriel said it was funny to see someone's face when he gave a cheap shot. Harry thought the most neutral person out there would be fair and just, but apparently, he was wrong. It just meant that he didn't choose a side and only truly got involved in world crisis stuff. Who knew?

While he never dueled with Azriel, thankfully, he did duel against a dummy Azriel created. It was shaped like a human and made of soft leather. It could do minimal movement and shoot out nonharmful spells, such as the tickling and shield charm. Its current setting was one out of seven, so he should have at least have been able to hold his ground. He learned very quickly how a tickling charm could end a fight.

It only took one duel. He lasted three minutes blocking the incoming spells until four consecutive tickling spells hit him on the same spot. His nerves lit like fire and he burst out laughing and crying. It felt like someone tickled him for an hour all contained in half a second. Luckily, the spell was cancelled after a few seconds.

Azriel, to his shame, watched the entire thing and asked him what he did wrong. Having no answer since he thought he gave it his best, he only looked down in humiliation. He heard Azriel sigh before walking up to him. Feeling his chin being lifted, his humiliation became embarrassment at the clear sign of tear tracks from the spell.

Azriel smiled softly before saying, "There's no need to be ashamed. It was your first battle with spells coming towards you. Benign, but still spells. The only thing you can do is improve, and that starts with figuring out what went wrong."

He stopped talking so Harry assumed he was meant to think the answer. Thinking hard, he didn't really remember anything going wrong, only that he grew tired and felt his magic was near empty from casting shield to block the rapid succession of spells. Eyes lighting up, he quickly spoke his thoughts.

"I used too much of my magic when I could have easily stepped aside like the dummy." He remembered that the dummy would shift weight onto its other foot to dodge spells, but he was more focused on not getting hit at the time while also firing spells.

Azriel beamed at him. "Correct. Many times, wizards seem to forget that they have bodies to move and waste magic blocking when moving to the side expends much less effort. As you have seen, there were numerable times when you could have dodged, but used your limited magic to block instead.

"So, for the foreseeable future, you will be forbidden from casting any spells while fighting the dummy. Good luck!" Azriel exclaimed with a mischievous smile, one that sent a shiver up his spine, before fading away. He would learn how to do that one day so help him.

Feeling the need to duck, he followed his instincts and watched a tickling charm fly over him. Jumping to the side to dodge another, he started cursing Azriel. This was just like him to do something like this. Cursing loudly while suddenly laughing, he swore one day he was going to get back at him, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

The year's training definitely showed results. He could dodge every spell the level one dummy threw at him for at least thirty minutes, which was when he could attack. Azriel did speed up the spell shots near the end, but it felt almost instinctive to dodge at this point, even when he didn't see the spell coming.

While hating it at the time, he couldn't deny the results of Azriel's tough training. After he finally lasted the thirty minutes and beat the dummy, he felt so accomplished. He had never worked so hard for something before, and it was a feeling he quite enjoyed. He now dreaded and happily waited for the next impossible looking challenge. It helped that he knew Azriel only did what was best for him in the end.

The other major development, and his favorite, was finding his familiar. The creatures Azriel taught him about this year were all interesting, but his favorites were the Acromantula and Basilisk.

The visit to the Acromantula nest was definitely an interesting experience. When they visited, the spiders instantly crowded around them and chittered excitedly. Very few possessed actual intellect, but all of them felt Azriel's aura and wanted to bask in it.

He spent an entire week learning about them and the uses of their venom. In the end, he decided that they were pretty cool as long as you weren't their enemy. He felt very sorry for the poor herd of cows that fed the nest.

Basilisks, on the other hand, were the most amazing creatures he had ever set his sights on. He had been waiting for this day ever since he discovered he could talk to snakes. Since Basilisks were the king of snakes, who wouldn't want to meet them?

He was visiting a mated pair and their three children when he felt a tug. His magic shifted and everyone froze. Azriel and the adults knew the feeling of a familiar call and were excited. The children just knew something was about to happen and froze in expectation.

Hadrian slowly walked to the eldest child, Seyr, and stood in front of him. The eldest was already eight feet long and half a foot wide, so he had to bend down to meet the five foot Hadrian. Raising his hand, he made contact with Seyr's head. A bright light shone throughout the cave before dimming.

Once the light died down, everyone could see Hadrian and Seyr staring at one another. The spell Azriel applied to Hadrian's eyes had been disrupted and Seyr's third eyelid was pulled back, so Hadrian was currently staring into a Basilisk's eyes without any defense.

Azriel smiled as he watched Hadrian's magic connect with Seyr's. Watching a familiar bond form never got old.

From then on, Azriel and Seyr never separated. They trained together, they fought together, they passed out after a long day of training together. They were inseparable. Hadrian even spent an entire month learning a spell so it would stay that way.

The spell allowed Seyr to become a living tattoo on Hadrian. As long as physical contact was made, he could be absorbed into Hadrian's skin and move about freely. A surprised benefit was Seyr's death stare.

When they were combined, Hadrian had the ability to use Seyr's eyes. Hadrian thought that was the most awesome thing in the world, but decided that he would probably never use it. He still felt sorry for the little mouse that Seyr wanted when they were combined.

Hadrian's magic substituted for food too, so Seyr wouldn't be forced to separate from him because of hunger. Thought, the best part was the telepathic communication. No matter where they were, they would always know where the other was and be able to speak to each other no matter what was between them.

At the end of the year, he decided that it would take a lot to be able to outshine this year.


End file.
